Day: January 16, 2012

You may have heard about offices in Japan circulating essential oils of Lemon, Peppermint
and Cypress through the air conditioning systems to keep office workers alert.
Well, an interesting side effect, it seemed to reduce their urge to smoke.
A tip for the smokers out there.

What we take for granted someone else thinks is beautiful. What we want to get rid of is someone else’s treasure. Sometimes we stand so close to something dear that we cannot see that it is dear. Our lack of awareness robs us of what we assume is ours forever. We have many eyes, but most are closed or glazed over. The eyes of the mind and spirit perceive far more than our physical eyes will ever see. The eyes of our hearing detect sound but also feelings and attitude – and the music of he sphere. There is a word in the Cherokee language, agowhtvhdi, which means sight. When we touch something we not only feel but we also see the gentleness or the hardships, the depths and the heights. No, we are never blind except when we close ourselves off and deny the very Spirit of Life.

~ Give heed, my child, lift up your eyes, behold the One who has brought you life.~CEREMONIAL SONG

For a dose of all-purpose protection, mix sage and fenugreek (or fennel) with a pinch of allspice, and cover with enough boiling water to fill a mug. Stand over the pot and visualize it glowing first with bright green, then with potent blue protective energy. When the potion is thoroughly imbued both with the herbs and your positive thoughts, pour. As you sip the aromatic brew, think of its protective energies seeping into your body, and into your aura. Gradually, your personal emanation becomes brighter and denser. With each taste of your tea, visualize yourself increasingly surrounded by a psychic raincoat that is impermeable to negativity.

Vesta was the Roman Goddess of the hearth and home (Hestia was her Greek counterpart). Her six Vestal Virgins (virgin in the sense that they belonged to no man – they were “one within”) tended her sacred fire in a round temple in Rome and the Romans offered a prayer to her every day at their own hearths. On March 1st, every year, her priestesses extinguished the fire and relit it. Her worship was connected with fertility and to let her light go out would mean that civilization would also end. On June 9th, the Vestalia was held when her priestesses baked salt cakes and sacrificed them on Vesta’s fire for 8 days, after which the temple was closed, cleaned out and then reopened the next day. She holds an oil lamp from 1st century Pompeii and wears a Roman earring from the 3rd-4th centuries. The statues of Senior Vestal Virgins in the background are from the House of the Vestal Virgins in the Roman Forum (heads and hands restored ). On the wall is a Roman frieze from the College of Vestal Virgins.
.http://www.goddessmyths.com/Vesta.JPG

About Vesta: In Roman mythology, Vesta was part of every fire. As such, Vesta commands the sacred fires of the hearth, the heart of spiritual and emotional stability in your home. Today was one other festival days, Christianized as the Feast of the Ass, which is a sacred animal to her. Traditional offerings for Vesta include homemade bread and salt cakes.

In works of art, Vesta was never shown directly but always depicted her in veils, possibly to honor her importance in Roman society. The vestal priestess was one of the few people considered suited to negotiating peace during war threats.

To Do Today: The first month of the year is a good time to think about the spiritual warmth in your living space. Ask Vesta to kindle those fires anew. Do this by lighting any fire source you have handy-a match, a candle, the oven, a pilot light-or, alternatively, just turn on a light as a symbolic fire. Be sure to keep this lit all day. When a fire goes out on Vesta’s day, it’s considered a bad omen, indicative of love being lost. To encourage peace on any battleground you’re facing this year, light a white candle (the color of truce) and put it in a window to invite Vesta’s presence (being sure it’s safe to do so, of course). Then take a piece of bread outside, breaking it into small bits so the birds can carry your wish of harmony across the earth.

In ancient times, the hearth-fire was rarely allowed to go out, especially in winter. When the fire had burned down to an ember, it was carefully preserved under a blanket of ashes. In Scotland, this was called “smooring,” and it was done in a ritualistic way. The embers were arranged in a circle divided into three parts, with an ember in the middle known as Tula nan Tri (Hearth of the Three). You can perform this fire magic with three candles, with a fourth in the center symbolizing what you wish to preserve and encourage in the season to come. Close your eyes and pass your hand over the candles, saying:

I am smooring the fire
As Bridget would smoor.
The gods’ protection
Be upon the flame.
I will build this power
As I build the hearth
At the dawn of the red sun of day.

New Moon – White Goddess of birth and growth.
Full Moon – Red Goddess of love and battle.
Old Moon – Black Goddess of death and divination.

All hail to thee, Queen of heaven!
Thou showest two horns to mark six days,
And on the seventh will divide thy crown in two.
On the fourteenth day, turn thy full face unto us.

Seven is the Moon’s mystic number, because each one of its four phases is completed in seven days.

Nineteen is a sacred number in Old Irish and Celtic lore, for the sequence of Moon phases within a single zodiac sign is repeated every 19 years.

The Mansions of the Moon, abodes of the soul, refer to the position of the Moon at noon on each of the 28 days in a lunar month.

Bow to the new Moon, especially the first new Moon of the year, as a sign of respect. It is courting disaster to point at the Moon at any time. Turn a silver coin in your purse or pocket at the first sight of the new Moon to gain luck.
It is bad luck to see the new Moon for the first time on your left, or behind you, or through the branches of a tree. A new Moon on Saturday means foul weather. A full Moon on Sunday brings bad luck and toilers of the sea should not set sail.

The Roman astrologers of classical times considered the Moon sign of a horoscope to be of far greater significance than the Sun sign.

Marsilioi Ficino, the Florentine philosopher of the Renaissance, defined the planetary image of the spirit of the Moon as an archer riding a doe, a huntress with bows and arrows, a little boy, a goose, or a single arrow.

Diana, Goddess of the Moon and patroness of witches, was regarded as a demon by the early Christians.

Waxing: as the size of the Moon increases, its form takes the shape of the capital letter D: D for Daring. This marks a time for creativity, expansion, and development. You may glance up at the sky in the late afternoon to see the pale waxing half Moon beckoning. Later on as darkness falls, it shines like a beacon of hope in the west, raising your spirits and assuring the success of your ventures.

Waning: rising later night after night, the Moon diminishes in size, now assuming the form of the letter C: C for Caring. The time has come to relax, restore energy, and quietly dispel negative influences in your life. Banish fear, unworthy desires, and selfish motivations as the Moon wanes.